Description:Silver brandy warmer with compressed baluster shape, V-shaped spout, and turned wooded side handle, which was marked with a crown and star over "LA" over a fleur-de-lis for Paul de Lamerie (1688-1751), and with the date letter "H" for 1723-1724; and the hallmarks of a leopard's head crowned and lion passant. After the repeal of Edict of Nantes in 1685, De Lamerie's French Huguenot family fled France for Holland where he was born, and then moved to London in 1689. In 1703, Paul de Lamerie was apprenticed to the Huguenot silversmith, Pierre Platel, and entered his first mark at Goldsmiths' Hall in 1713. He later became one of the most important silversmiths of his time, excelling in many styles, from simple to ornate. This brandy warmer form, used to warm liquors and spirits, was a popular form in the 18th century.